I want to compare this Other One to the last night at MSG in 90 when I was uncertain if I had made an error in judgment by selling my worldly goods for 1990 Europe Tour tickets traveling Without a Net but with a Eurail Pass.
But hey if there is still anyone reading these reviews who actually loved the music knows--- it called out!
and if you listened to 3-28-72 live and it called out to you to HEAD to Europe
know it did likewise for me in 1990 and that is what I love about the music of the Grateful Dead.
I am sure some of you old time HEADs probably cringe at comparing 72 to 90 just as I have great difficulty listening to anything without Garcia LIVE more than once.
But hey this is a sweet run of shows, more like a rehearsal and fundraiser for Europe 72 all in one.
Pigpen actually sounds like he wants to take somebody home on this version of the Stranger which is not the vibe I get from it when he sings it across the pond.

The end of the Academy run and the last show before E72. It's probably not quite as good as the 23rd, but it's still one of the best shows of the run. The First Set is packed with songs, though they are relatively concise (and there are also major tuning pauses - edited on the official release). Oddly, it's the first disc of Dick's #30 that has the bonus tracks. Though the First Set is remarkable, the second set is typical of what you find throughout '72.

First Set. A whopper set right from the start with Truckin', through an ace Tennessee. Chinatown may start shaky but the solo is supernatural; and listen to Bobby. Black Throated is average and Keith would find his place on You Win Again on the upcoming tour. Mr Charlie is just like the best E72 versions. Bobby (not Jer!) then plays a Spring Song (No. 6 Frühlingslied) tuning, so Jer teases him back with a Mexican Hat Dance. Makes sense, since they're about to go to Baja with a Mexicali. This and the next few are typical '72s but dig Looks Like Rain. Jer sits for pedal steel and with Phil on harmony it's one of best efforts of this config (albeit rather maudlin, and Jer's pedal is arguably akin to Bobby's slide playing). Big Railroad is deliciously uptempo and, with dual leads, loose and careening. Jer finds yet another angle for El Paso. China Cat is way uptempo and insane - one of the year's best. They exit the set in peak form on Casey Jones - even if the SBD is distorted.

Second Set. Skip the Playin' opener or endure very harsh Donnaskreech™. "Wanna join, like officially?" "I dunno man, does that mean I'm free to screech at the top of my lungs?" Most of the rest is in line with '72. The Other One is basically Space for the first half - very touchy-feely. Not Fade stands out - it's what Jer plays that's different. The wrath of Donnaskreech™ appears again on Goin' Down the Road but the really horrible vox are reserved for the reprise of Not Fade. Ouch! There's been much trainspotting for Sidewalks of New York but it's just a half-minute tuning. For One More Saturday Night, everybody's dancin' at the old academy.

1st Set:   A
2nd Set: C
Overall = 4 stars

Highlights:
Truckin' - tight
Tennessee Jed - standard top '72
Chinatown Shuffle - supernatural solo and check Bobby
Mr Charlie - like the best few E72 versions
Looks Like Rain - Jer on pedal steel, Phil on harmony; best of the run
Big Railroad - uptempo, careening but exciting
El Paso - Jer finds yet another angle
China Cat Sunflower - uptempo, insane and Bobby's amazing
Casey Jones - peak form
Not Fade Away - it's what Jer plays that makes it

SOURCES: One of Eaton's barn reel SBDs with a Charlie mastering. Or Dick's #30. Oddly, One More Saturday runs slightly fast and needs -1% pitch correction. However, that's true on the official release, too.

This show even sounded good as a horrible AUD. Each tune has something extra and some tunes (playin', two souls, other one) have a lot extra.

When tapes were traded, 9/27/72 and 3/28/72 were the great missing soundboards of the year... patience rewarded here!

It's hard to believe that this show was released almost 12 years ago! I remember seeing it in the bin at Amoeba Records in Berkeley and thinking "Cripes that's expensive. I'll wait for it to show up used." It never showed up. So here's lucky me in 2015 stumbling across this diamond for the first time. Me likey.

This is easily the best show in the run, and one of the better shows of 1972 (his views on Veneta notwithstanding, Dick had pretty good taste). The sound quality is excellent. Lots of separation in the mix and Pig's excellent organ playing is easily audible most of the time.

All the first set songs are played with gusto and feeling. Your mileage will vary depending on your preferences but the Brokedown, Cumberland, LLR (Jerry on steel), and China->Rider really stand out. The segue jam in China->Rider is especially interesting as the band seems to struggle at first to find the groove behind Bobby's solo, then they just roll with it, and then Jerry locks into a riff that reminds of New Potato Caboose before they dive into Rider.

The setlist for Set II pretty much speaks for itself. Jerry's solo in Playin' is one of those energy building deals where total heavy-osity reaches a breaking point followed by drifting, mournful ribbons of sound. The Sugar Mag coda features Jerry on the wah (but, sadly, Donna has not yet found her way into the arrangement) and segues directly into an excellent Other One.

By my count, this is the show at which Donna introduced her "wail" or "scream" or whatever it was at the end of the Playin' jam. It continued and became a "distinctive" featured of subsequent performances of this beloved Dead song.

No rating, just a footnote.

A very nice sound upgrade from a terrific early '72 show at the Academy in NYC....a very sweet Brokedown Palace.

you!!